Department for Transport

Electric Scooters: Regulation

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have tointroduce a bill to regulate electric scooters separately from the proposed Great British Railway Bill.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Government intends to introduce legislation for micromobility when parliamentary time allows.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Supply

Lord Lucas: To ask His Majesty's Government, further the publication of Updated energy and emissions projections 2021 to 2040 on 18 October, what are the projected (1) sources of, and (2) uses for, electrical energy in 2024 (a) on average, and (b) on a cold winter evening with no wind; and what are the uses to which gas is being put in 2040.

Lord Callanan: Annex J of BEIS Energy and Emissions Projections 2021-2040 provides a breakdown of electricity supply by source. The breakdown for 2024 is shown overleaf. More detailed breakdowns by use, time of day or weather pattern are not available for electricity supply, electricity consumption or gas consumption. Total electricity generation by source 2024 (EEP 2021-2040 reference case)SourceElectricity supplied 2024 (TWh)Coal1Natural gas88Nuclear22Renewables159Pumped storage output4Battery storage output1Pumped storage input-5Battery storage input-2Net imports57Total supplied (net of storage & imports)327

Energy Supply

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made ofthe amount of electricity the UK will need per day by 2050.

Lord Callanan: Annex O of the Energy and Emission Projections presents indicative annual generation data out to 2050 for higher and lower demand scenarios. In these scenarios the UK will need an average of 1.5 to 2.1 TWh of electricity per day in 2050.Net Zero and the Power Sector Scenarios (pdf, 469.7KB)

Flexible Working

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their response to the Making Flexible Working the Default consultation about proposals relating to a legislative framework for flexible working hours.

Lord Callanan: The Government consultation on making flexible working the default closed in December 2021, with over 1,600 responses received. These have been carefully considered, and we will publish our response in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care

Carers: Cost of Living

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the impact of the rising cost of living on unpaid carers.

Lord Markham: The Department has made no formal assessment. However, HM Treasury has assessed the impact of the rising cost of living across household groups, including unpaid carers. In 2023/24, £26 billion has been provided to support the cost of living, in addition to benefits uprating of £11 billion to working age households and people with disabilities. This is in addition to the Energy Price Guarantee and £37 billion in place to support households in 2022/23.

Coronavirus: China

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the risk of new COVID-19 variants emerging in China.

Lord Markham: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors all domestic and internationally circulating COVID-19 variants using United Kingdom sequencing data and the international database, GISAID. Lineages are reviewed weekly for trends, analysis and risk assessments. While China has not submitted recent sequences to GISAID, variants would be detected through the global horizon scanning process. The UKHSA works with international partners and the World Health Organization on variant surveillance.

Department for Education

Students: Finance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support (1) college, and (2) university, students affected by the increased cost of living.

Baroness Barran: The department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students.The department provides a range of financial support for further education (FE) students aged 16-19, or aged up to 25 with an education, health and care plan who need it to enable them to participate in post-16 education. Support available includes free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education (such as travel, books, equipment, and trips), plus support for childcare and residential costs where required. In the 2022/23 academic year, allocations for discretionary bursary funding totalled £143.7 million, which is 7% higher than the allocations in 2021/22. This will support disadvantaged students to continue in FE or training.Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance.There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged HE students who need additional help. The department has worked with the Office for Students to ensure universities support disadvantaged students using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.All households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Bill introduced on 12 October 2022, includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this legislation will be set out in regulations.Students whose bills are included in their rent, including energy charges, will typically have agreed their accommodation costs upfront when signing their contract for the current academic year. Businesses, including those that provide student accommodation, are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides energy bill relief for non-domestic customers in Great Britain.A Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.

Schools: Attendance

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many children are currently (1) home educated, (2) being taught in an unregistered provision, and (3) missing from schools rolls and unaccounted for.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how children are safeguarded when being home educated.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government how many children from deprived backgrounds are home educated.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of children who did not return to full time education following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baroness Barran: There is no statutory requirement for local authorities or the department to hold information on home educated children, children taught in unregistered provision, or children missing from school rolls, though such data may be held by local authorities.Local authorities have a duty under Section 436A of the Education Act 1996 to identify children of compulsory school age in their area who are not registered at a school, and are not receiving suitable education otherwise.Information held on children who did not return to full-time education following the COIVD-19 pandemic is not held by the department.Between 6 October and 4 November 2022, the department requested local authorities aggregate data on elective home education and children missing education to improve understanding of these cohorts. This data is being analysed and will be published in due course.

Home Education

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of money spent on average by local authorities supporting children who are home educated.

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what data they keep on the (1) educational, and (2) wellbeing, outcomes of children who are being home-educated at (a) national, and (b) local authority, level.

Baroness Barran: The department does not hold data on the amount of funding that local authorities allocate to support their existing duties in relation to elective home education. However, new burdens assessments have been undertaken with regards to the proposals for Children Not in School registers and the accompanying support duty for local authorities, which will be used to help determine the level of financial support needed to enable local authorities to comply with their proposed new statutory duties.The department does not hold data on educational or wellbeing outcomes of children who are being home-educated. Parents have the right to home educate as they choose, provided the education is suitable to the age, ability, aptitude, and the special educational needs of the child. There are no requirements for these children to undertake formal assessments, at set points, which are typically used as part of measuring the outcomes of children attending school. Therefore, no data of this nature is collected.

Education Act 1996

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government when they last conducted a review onthe operation of section 571 of the Education Act 1996.

Baroness Barran: The department has not conducted or published a formal review of Section 571 of the Education Act 1996.The department endeavours to provide guidance to the sector, where necessary, in a timely and efficient manner. A collection of the department’s statutory guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statutory-guidance-schools.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

BBC Parliament: Finance

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what representations he has made to the BBC regarding the reductionin funding of BBC Parliament and its implications for public awareness of the work of Parliament.

Lord Touhig: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The House of Lords Administration is aware that there was a change in the management structure of BBC Parliament and the funding levels of the service in spring/summer 2021, however we are not aware of any further reduction in funding of BBC Parliament over the last 18 months. Neither the Senior Deputy Speaker nor I have made any representations to the BBC.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

East Africa: Famine

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support interventions bynon-governmental organisations to prevent famine in (1) Ethiopia, (2) Kenya, (3) Somalia, and (4) South Sudan.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play a central role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in East Africa. The Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund, which the UK supports, reached 3.2 million people in 2021 with life-saving aid with more than 30 national and international NGOs involved in delivery. In Somalia nine NGOs have responded to critical needs and have taken action to promote long-term resilience under the UK funded Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) consortium. In South Sudan, the UK has delivered financial support, life-saving nutrition supplies as well as activities to address gender-based violence through a consortium of five NGOs. In Kenya humanitarian support is delivered via UN agencies.

Caritas and Catholic Agency for Overseas Development

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the work of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and its affiliated organisation Caritas Internationalis.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Any partner who is intended to be a direct recipient of FCDO funding must have a documented due diligence assessment in place. A due diligence assessment for a grant recipient determines whether an Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partner has the capacity and capability to manage programme funds and deliver the programme or project objectives specific to the context. Our records indicate that the legacy departments of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office conducted due diligence assessments on Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and Caritas Internationalis; however, our records indicate that there has been no assessment since the departments merged to form the FCDO.

Department for Work and Pensions

Household Support Fund: Low Pay

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to increase the wages of low-paid workers through the Household Support Fund.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Household Support Fund is a discretionary scheme delivered by Local Authorities in England and administered by the Department for Work and Pensions. The scheme is intended to support those in the most need with the cost of essentials. The Household Support Fund is not designed to increase the wages of low-paid workers but is rather intended to support households in the most need to help with global inflationary challenges and the significantly rising cost of living. Over 8.8 million awards were made in England in the period from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The Government announced an additional £1 billion in the Autumn Statement to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing the total funding for this support to £2.5 billion since October 2021. In England, a further £842 million is being provided to extend the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024. In turn, the Devolved Administrations will receive £158 million through the Barnett formula to spend at their discretion. Guidance, details and individual Local Authority indicative allocations for the Household Support Fund will be announced in due course

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Technology

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theywill provide an update on how they are supporting farmers to adapt to new technologies to improve efficiency of agri-tech businesses.

Lord Benyon: In October last year, Defra launched the £270 million Farming Innovation Programme that is enabling more farmers, growers, and agri-food businesses to become involved in agricultural and horticultural R&D. This will drive new innovation and accelerate the adoption of new technologies on farms, including by supporting farmers to run their own on farm trials to test new technologies and demonstrate their value to other farmers. In November last year, Defra also launched the Farming Investment Fund which to date will provide over £98 million worth of funding for farmers to invest in their businesses. This provides funding to farmers to invest in the latest technology such as automation and robotics and equipment to enable them to process, diversify and add value to their eligible agricultural products after they are harvested or reared. This will, in turn, help drive new technologies from agri-tech businesses.

High Speed 2 Line: Polymers

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Benyon on 10 November (HL2965),which stated that "this discharge is made to surface waters rather than groundwater, greatly reducing the potential risk to the drinking water aquifer", whether this means that there is still some risk from the water being (1) reused in HS2 operations, including reinsertion to the aquifer at the tunnel boring operation, and (2) discharged to the water environment in a roadside ditch which is a winter born chalk stream directly above the principal aquifer.

Lord Benyon: Water is not discharged into the aquifer during tunnel boring operations. The roadside ditch is an artificial (i.e. man-made) drainage channel, not a winterbourne chalk stream. A quantitative risk assessment has been caried out for both surface water and groundwater impacts for discharge to the roadside ditch and the risk assessment showed the discharge was, given the controls on the permit, acceptable and not liable to cause pollution to either water receptor.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the poultry or other captive birds culled for avian influenza since the start of the outbreak on 27 October 2021 were free from infection at the time of culling.

Lord Benyon: Not all birds on infected premises are tested. It is therefore not possible to estimate accurately the number of uninfected birds on the premises at the point of culling. However, it should be noted that once introduced into the premises, avian influenza spreads rapidly through birds present. Following a report of suspicion of avian influenza, the National Reference Laboratory undertakes rigorous testing of a statistically valid sample of birds. All birds assessed as being part of the same epidemiological group on infected premises are humanely culled to stop the spread of the disease, and mitigate any public health risk these infected birds may pose.

Home Office

Asylum and Visas: Applications

Baroness Hamwee: To ask His Majesty's Government, in respect of (1) family visa applications, (2) asylum applications, and (3) visit visa applications, for the purpose of visiting close family members, how many caseworkers are engaged in considering applications for each yearsince 2010.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask His Majesty's Government, in respect of (1) family visa applications, (2) asylum applications, and (3) visit visa applications, for the purpose of visiting close family members, how many decisions are reached each week as an average(a) annuallyfrom 2012 to 2020, and (b) monthly since 2020.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask His Majesty's Government in respect of (1) family visa applications, (2) asylum applications, and (3) visit visa applications, for the purpose of visiting close family members, (a) how many, and (b) the proportion of, caseworkers who have ceased employment in each yearsince 2010.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask His Majesty's Government in respect of (1) family visa applications, (2) asylum applications, and (3) visit visa applications, for the purpose of visiting close family members, how caseworkers are recruited; and what are the essential criteria that applicants are expected to meet.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask His Majesty's Government in respect of (1) family visa applications, (2) asylum applications, and (3) visit visa applications, for the purpose of visiting close family members, whether tools involving artificial intelligence or machine learning are used in the assessment of applications; and if so, what artificial intelligence or machine learning is used.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We recruit using standard Civil Service recruitment processes and all our decision makers must meet minimum Civil Service recruitment standards. Once appointed the Home Office offers a comprehensive training programme and mentoring framework for decision makers. In relation to methods used, it should be noted that tools involving machine learning or artificial intelligence are not used in the assessment of family visa applications.Records for the number of staff assessing family visa applications are not maintained as far back to 2010. During that time, the department has undergone various organisational changes, and has also employed temporary staff, so we are unable to provide accurate data on the number of caseworkers who have ceased employment. However the average number of decisions made each week in respect of family visa applications do not form part of any current transparency data applications and are not published. The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).In relation to the records for the number of staff assessing family visa applications, they are not maintained back to 2010. Resource is also often used flexibly, so if data was available, we would be unable to provide accurate figures in respect of the amount of caseworkers engaged in considering family visa applications for each year since 2010.

Undocumented Migrants: Detainees

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set out an action plan to implement the four recommendations made by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) in his report An inspection of the initial processing of migrants arriving via small boats at Tug Haven and Western Jet Foil December 2021 – January 2022, published on 21 July.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Government published its response to the ICIBI’s report on 21 July 2022. This included a commitment to address all the recommendations made by the ICIBI, almost all of which had been resolved by the time of the report’s publication.A copy of the response can be found at Response to ICIBI report on small boat arrivals at Tug Haven and Western Jetfoil - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-icibi-report-on-small-boat-arrivals-at-tug-haven-and-western-jetfoil]

Detention Centres: Notifiable Diseases

Lord Goodlad: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 16 November (HL3143), (1) how many, and (2) which, cases of notifiable diseases in the Western Jet Foil and Manston Asylum Processing Centre have been referred to the UK Health Security Agency.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office works closely with UKHSA and the NHS in tracking those with communicable diseases.Any cases of Communicable diseases are dealt with in conjunction with UKHSA local Health Protection Team and this includes creating a pathway for the safe dispersals of persons with communicable diseases from site into appropriate accommodation ensuring all relevant parties are informed prior to the dispersal. Any decisions are taken in liaison with UKHSA and local NHS partners.

Detention Centres

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government how many propositions for new Immigration Removal Centres have been announced to market in the last two years.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: In the period 23 November 2020 to 23 November 2022 the Home Office has announced to the market three new Immigration Removals Centres: Derwentside IRC, Campsfield IRC, and Haslar IRC.

Napier Barracks: Accommodation Centres

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish a statement of community involvement following the consultation on extending planning permission for the accommodation facility at Napier Barracks.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The United Kingdom has a statutory obligation to provide support and accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. The record numbers of individuals illegally crossing the Channel has meant the asylum acommodation system is under immense pressure. Ongoing use of Napier and the development of new accommodation models, are vital to our ability to continue to meet the ongoing demand to accommodate destitute asylum seekers.To ensure that this much-needed facility continues to provide accommodation, officials prepared a planning proposal extending our use of Napier until 2025, and on 27 August 2021 we laid a Special Development Order (SDO) which came into effect on 21 September 2021. A statement of community involvement will not be produced as it is not a requirement of the Special Development Order; however, we have sought to engage with the local community through correspondence and the provision of relevant information on the gov.uk website.

Detention Centres: Ministers of Religion

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government why there is a bar on chaplains and other faith leaders visiting detainees at Tug Haven and Western Jet Foil; and what plans they have, if any, to lift this ban.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Tug Haven closed in January 2022. There is no bar on chaplains attending Western Jetfoil.However, there is currently no provision to do so as people are only held there on a very short term basis whilst basic medical checks and searching takes place.

Metropolitan Police: Misconduct

Lord Lexden: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 19 October (HL Deb, col 1087) that seven officers were suspended from the Metropolitan Police Service on 31 March, how that figure relates to the statement by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on 18 Novemberthat “of the 3,500 officers who cannot be fully deployed, about 500 are suspended or on limited duties because they are under investigation for serious misconduct”; and if the two figures relate to comparable data, what are the reasons why seven officers were suspended on 31 March but 500 were suspended or on limited duties on 19 November.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office publishes these data as part of the Police Workforce Statistics. They show that, as of 31 March 2022, there were 7 officers suspended by the Metropolitan Police Service.In addition, they show that there were also 2,718 Metropolitan Police Service officers on restricted or adjusted duties. This includes those officers for whom reasonable adjustments had been made under the Equality Act 2010.There are three categories to limited duties – recuperative, adjusted or management restricted. Adjusted duties are those where workplace adjustment have been made to overcome barriers to working and depend on the officer discharging a substantive police role, which can be accommodated without unreasonable detriment to overall force effectiveness or resilience. Management restricted duties are those put in place where there is verifiable confidential or source sensitive information that questions the suitability of an officer to continue in their post and/or there are serious concerns which require management actions for the protection of individuals and the organisation, but where criminal or misconduct procedures are not warranted and the Chief Constable has lost confidence in the office continuing in their current role.The Home Office does not hold the data cited by the Commissioner and cannot therefore make a comparison.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Land Drainage

Lord Randall of Uxbridge: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all new homes have sustainable drainage systems.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that when determining planning applications in areas at risk of flooding, planning authorities should ensure priority is given to the use of sustainable drainage systems. There is an expectation that sustainable drainage systems will be provided in all new major developments, unless demonstrated to be inappropriate.It is the responsibility of those carrying out building work to comply with the Building Regulations. Part H of the Building Regulations and its associated guidance Approved Document H, gives guidance on how any work done can comply with the building regulations around safely installing waste disposal systems.Approved Document H (pdf, 1254.8KB)

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Palantir

Baroness Brinton: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the “purposes” currently active in the “Purpose-Based Access Control” feature in Palantir’s Foundry software in use in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Being assigned a 'purpose' (now known as a 'project') gives a Foundry user access to different data on Homes for Ukraine, depending on their role. For privacy and security reasons, the access rights for users is carefully controlled. Foundry does not hold data not related to Homes for Ukraine and is not used for any other purpose.

Cabinet Office

Public Duty Costs Allowance

Lord Rennard: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 November (HL Deb col 1170) concerning the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), and the statement that the “Government keep these matters under review and that the level of the limit is reviewed by the Prime Minister, at the start of a Parliament and annually”,what have been the total sums paid to each recipient of the PDCA in each of the years for which they have been able to claim; and what have been the total costs of the scheme to date.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government does not hold a full record of claims against the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA) going back to 1991 when the allowance was established. The table above provides information from 2009/10 collated from government data. From the financial year 2013/14, the annual amount of PDCA claimed by each former Prime Minister has been included in the Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts which is published on GOV.UK. The years that have been published in this way are highlighted in Table 1. Prior to 2013, in line with the approach taken on Parliament’s Office Costs Allowance, to which the PDCA was linked, details of claims made by former Prime Ministers were not published. I would also refer the noble Lord to a written answer provided on 6 April 2010 by the late Baroness Jowell, then Minister for the Cabinet Office (reference 311222) which provides details of total annual claims made against the PDCA in 1997/98-2008/09. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2010-04-06/debates/1004064000076/PublicDutyCostsAllowance?highlight=office%20costs%20allowance#contribution-1004064000990 Table 1: The Government does not hold a full record of claims against the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA) going back to 1991 when the allowance was established. The table above provides information from 2009/10 collated from government data. From the financial year 2013/14, the annual amount of PDCA claimed by each former Prime Minister has been included in the Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts which is published on GOV.UK. The years that have been published in this way are highlighted in Table 1. Prior to 2013, in line with the approach taken on Parliament’s Office Costs Allowance, to which the PDCA was linked, details of claims made by former Prime Ministers were not published. I would also refer the noble Lord to a written answer provided on 6 April 2010 by the late Baroness Jowell, then Minister for the Cabinet Office (reference 311222) which provides details of total annual claims made against the PDCA in 1997/98-2008/09. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2010-04-06/debates/1004064000076/PublicDutyCostsAllowance?highlight=office%20costs%20allowance#contribution-1004064000990 Table 1:The Rt Hon Baroness Margaret ThatcherThe Rt Hon Sir John MajorThe Rt Hon Tony BlairThe Rt Hon Gordon BrownThe Rt Hon David CameronThe Rt Hon Sir Nick CleggThe Rt Hon Theresa MayPensionsTotal PDCA2009-10103,812103,812103,81210,381321,8172010-11104,133109,125109,19193,698   10,912427,0592011-12109,192115,000115,000114,998   25,096479,2862012-1370,693114,996115,000100,316   15,832385,1722013-14 114,765115,000101,348---76,000407,1132014-15 115,000115,000112,450---115,463226,9872015-16 115,000115,000114,763-101,911-21,435468,1092016-17 115,000115,000114,83850,227114,982-28,020538,0672017-18 115,000115,000114,920111,544115,000-39,524610,9882018-19 114,935115,000114,057110,413112,882-21,425588,7122019-20 115,000115,000114,802111,457-34,83611,500502,5952020-21 115,000115,000113,712113,423-57,83255,381571,3482021-22 115,000115,000114,655106,747-80,08311,500542,985Total387,8301,477,6331,478,0031,325,557603,811444,775172,751179,8796070,239

Intelligence and Security Committee: Reform

Lord Tyrie: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given, if any, to reforming the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: His Majesty’s Government welcomes the independent and robust oversight of the UK Intelligence Community that the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament provides. The role and remit of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament is set out in the Justice and Security Act 2013 and accompanying Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the Committee and the Prime Minister. The Government considers the current arrangements set out in the Act and related MOU sufficient to enable the Committee to discharge its statutory function in respect of the oversight of the Security and Intelligence Agencies and the wider Intelligence Community.

Privy Council

Lord Lexden: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the size of the Privy Council on (1) 1 December 1992, and (2) 1 December 2022.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The size of the Privy Council on 1 December 1992 was about 275. The size of the Privy Council on 1 December 2022 was 743.

Public Duty Costs Allowance

Lord Rennard: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Answer byBaroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 November (HL Deb col 1170) concerning the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA),how a distinction is made between the staff and office costs involved through working on recognised public duties conducted by former Prime Ministers, such as non fee-paying public appearances, and commercial activities, such as writing books and paid media or public appearances, or party-political campaigning.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Public Duty Costs Allowance is administered by the Cabinet Office. Former Prime Ministers may only be reimbursed for legitimate staff salary, office or other expenses incurred in meeting the demands of the former Prime Minister’s public life up to the annual limit, which has been set at £115,000 since 2011. The allowance cannot be paid in advance of need and cannot be backdated. Invoices to cover such costs are submitted to the Cabinet Office. Supporting documentation (for example receipts and salary details, including where relevant the proportion of salary being claimed) are retained by the claimant and made available on request by either Cabinet Office Finance or the National Audit Office for audit purposes.

Former Ministers: Redundancy Pay

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Neville-Rolfe on 23 November (HL3410), which ministers (1) applied for, or (2) have received, salary payments equal to a quarter of their annual salary following their appointment by Prime Minister Truss and subsequent dismissal by Prime Minister Sunak; and what was the sum paid in each case.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As indicated in the Written Answer of 23 November, Ministers’ entitlement to a payment on ceasing to hold office is set out in the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 (section 4). As such payments are a statutory entitlement, they are made as a matter of course by the relevant department where a minister meets the criteria, unless the entitlement is waived by the minister in question.Any payments made under section 4 of Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 to ministers who served under the former Prime Minister will be published by departments in their audited annual reports and accounts in due course.

Procurement Bill (HL)

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to amend the Procurement Bill to ensure that no preferential treatment for public contracts can be given to organisations recommended by Members of Parliament.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: This question was debated in the House of Lords, during the Report stage of the Procurement Bill on Wednesday 30 November 2022.The Bill’s current clauses provide strong safeguards to preserve the integrity of a procurement. Clause 76 sets out the people in respect of whom conflicts of interest should be identified. This covers anyone acting for or on behalf of the contracting authority in relation to a procurement, including those who influence a decision made by, or on behalf of, a contracting authority related to the procurement. Clause 77(3) states that if a conflict of interest puts a supplier at an unfair advantage, and if steps to mitigate cannot avoid that advantage, the supplier must be excluded.This, combined with the Bill’s requirements on transparency and equal treatment, will mean that contracting authorities will not be allowed to give preferential treatment to suppliers recommended by Members of Parliament.

Abuse: Older People

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people aged over 65 who were victims of (1) physical, (2) psychological, and (2) sexual, abuse for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Noble Lord’s Parliamentary Question: HL3614 is attached. Victims of Abuse (pdf, 118.0KB)UKSA Response to PQHL3614 (pdf, 118.0KB)

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release: Foreign Nationals

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign nationals serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) were released under the Tariff-Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) in the financial years (1) 2020/2021, and (2) 2021/2022; how long was the tariff for each prisoner; and how many years beyond tariff each prisoner had served at point of release.

Lord Bellamy: The Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) applies to foreign national offenders serving an indeterminate sentence. Section 32A of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 provides the Secretary of State with the power to approve the removal of a prisoner for the purposes of deportation once the minimum tariff date has expired and without the Parole Board directing release. A prisoner is not released from their sentence and is liable to continue to serve the sentence if they return to the UK.There were six foreign national offenders serving sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) removed under TERS, three in each financial year. The tariff lengths for these prisoners were one of ten years, three of eight years, and two of seven years. Four prisoners were removed between one- and two-years post-tariff and two were removed less than one-year post-tariff. The data apply solely to IPP offenders and only include those cases where the Home Office has confirmed their removal.